1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to systems for culturing biological specimens, and more particularly, to an anabolic chamber having variable access ports, variable mounting features, improved cleanliness and decreased weight relative to prior art systems.
2. Background of the Related Art
Incubators are used to maintain environment sensitive specimens such as human embryos under desirable conditions. The use of stainless steel housings for incubators is well known in the art. Generally, the stainless steel housing defines an interior chamber surrounded by a water jacket for maintaining temperature control. Alternatively, direct heat may be applied to the exterior of the chamber to maintain temperature control. Shelves within the interior chamber support specimens. Techniques have been also developed to maintain a constant, as well as filter the air, within the interior chamber.
Stainless steel enclosures are both heavy and difficult to fabricate. The welded corners and joints need to be polished to provide a smooth surface which can be cleaned. The welding and polishing is an expensive and difficult process. If the polishing and cleaning is poorly performed, molds, spores and other bacteria can grow thereon. Further, the interior chamber defines right angle corners which provide an area for undesirable contamination to collect, which can be difficult to successfully clean by technicians. Additionally, monitoring and other devices such as video cameras, acoustic sensors, air filtration units and the like require costly addition of mounting fixtures within the interior chamber. Further, connection of internal devices to external apparatus is difficult particularly when a water jacket is employed. With traditional stainless steel chambers, adding additional features after production and creating a pass-through to the interior chamber is impossible or at least limited.
Several systems have been developed to provide access to and control of the conditions of the interior of an incubator. Some examples are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,119 to Cecchi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,427 to Hugh et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,110 to Cecchi et al., each of which is incorporated herein by reference. For example, one parameter which is desirable to control within the incubator is the cleanliness of the air. Generally, an air circulation system includes a blower for forcing the air within the interior through a filtering mechanism and back into the interior. Sophisticated feedback mechanisms may be employed to maintain humidity and temperature within prescribed ranges.
As appropriate for the specific application, a plurality of fixtures or support structures may exist within the interior. For example, at great expense and difficulty, conventional stainless steel incubators have anchors spot welded for securing shelving and other user selectable fixtures. Often, when the water jacket is filled, the walls of the incubator bow and the fixtures either fit improperly or the anchors cease to function altogether. Shelving units may be configured to enhance air flow and access to specimens as taught in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/693,595 to Cecchi et al. and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/053,944 to Cecchi et al., each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
In a laboratory environment, it is often desirable to relocate or reconfigure an incubator. The excessive weight of stainless steel construction is an impediment to handling and stacking. Further, the ability to retrofit a stainless steel incubator is cost prohibitive, if existent at all. In view of this, some technology has recognized the need for varying the configuration of the incubator externally in order to provide flexibility in laboratory configuration. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,687 to Hugh, incorporated herein by reference, discloses an incubator door which can be reversed in the field by way of a reversible hinge mounting assembly. However, such retrofit techniques have not proven to be cost effective and provide only limited variation of configuration. Further, no latent features are present which would allow reconfiguration of the incubator. Latent features allow capabilities, such as shelf mounts and access ports, to be present in the incubator and utilized, after production, as desired by the specific application.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved incubator which permits easy movement and/or reconfiguration, assures adequate cleanliness and maintains desirable conditions for the specimens.